Dhoni, Rahane to lead India A in warm-ups against England

Short of match practice, MS Dhoni and Ajinkya Rahane will captain the India A team for two warm-up matches against England at Cricket Club of India (CCI) next week

Short of match practice, MS Dhoni and Ajinkya Rahane will captain the India A team for two warm-up matches against England at Cricket Club of India (CCI) next week.

Dhoni, who has not played a competitive game in over two months, will lead the India A side in the opening warm-up on January 10. Rahane, who is coming back from an injury, will captain the team in the second warm-up on January 12. Teams picked for the practice games comprise fresh faces as well as experienced players, who are coming back from injuries or layoffs.

Among the star attractions at CCI will be Dhoni, who will be playing his first match since stepping down from India's limited overs captaincy. The other big names to feature in the opening warm-up will be Yuvraj Singh and Ashish Nehra, who both have made a return to the national team after a nine-month gap. The seasoned players last played for India in the World T20 in March.